Sermon (April 21) - Maundy Thursday

Show and Tell and Serve

A popular form of education in the lower grades for many years has been what has been known as, "Show and Tell." It has invaded some pulpits as well, and preachers will do object-centered sermons; they hold or employ some particular item easily seen and understood by the congregation in order to gain attention and hopefully, make a point that will be remembered.

It was something of that nature Jesus was doing on the night of the Last Supper, as it is recorded for us by the evangelist John. In some ways, it comes as a surprise to us just as much as it did to those early disciples. We may even find ourselves as scandalized by it as was Peter.

We are of course, expecting what we get in the other Gospels, the tradition of Jesus taking bread and wine and sharing them with the others in remembrance of him. John doesn't even tell us about that event at all. Rather, he tells about something that happened at the meal, not reported by the other three evangelists. He tells this remarkable story of Jesus washing the feet of the disciples.

Why did Jesus do it? I suppose he wanted to show and tell them something about himself and something about themselves.

First, something about himself. It is not clear precisely when this event occurred in relation to the passing of the bread and the wine, because John says Jesus did it "during supper." In any event, the foot-washing is another way for Jesus to show the disciples what it meant to give his body and blood. It was an act of service which no one else could or would do.

Jesus and the disciples had walked the long way from Bethany and their sandaled feet were dusty. The basin and towel were there to be used by the servant appointed for the purpose, but there was no servant, and it was evident, if feet were to be washed, one of them would have to do it. That was a lot to expect from a bunch of guys who, only a few days previously, had been quarreling about who would have the chief seats in the kingdom! In their pride, they preferred that all, including their Master, should eat unwashed, rather than any one of them doing the job. In their pride, they failed not only to minister to one another, they failed to minister to Jesus himself.

I wonder if Jesus was sorrowfully exasperated with them, the way parents get with children when they stubbornly insist on their own way, even to their hurt. Had he talked and talked for three years for nothing? What more could he say? How could he express the message of the love of God any more vividly? What good would more words do if they still did not understand or apply what he had been saying? So Jesus must have decided an object lesson was in order. He would act out his teaching. He would show them, in a specific way who he was and what his teaching was all about. He, who had come from God and was about to return to God, would wash their feet.

In the breaking of bread, Jesus said, "This is my body, given for you." Now he quite literally uses his body to show the attitude of humility and service that was part of his mission as the Son of God. As God laid aside the divine glory in the incarnation, so Jesus lays aside his garments to do the work of a slave. He was showing and telling them something about himself: that humility is one of the characteristics of God.

Funny we never think of God as being humble. Maybe because humility is another of those words that has had a bad press. Humility doesn't mean eating dirt. It means you have enough confidence in who you are that you can recognize yourself even when you are dirty. It means you can risk the dirt because your appearance does not have to be defined by the cosmetics of pride. God is like that. The God who lived among us in Jesus Christ is like that. While the disciples may still have been thinking about the chief seats in the kingdom, the God who made them was washing their feet.

Jesus also sought to show and tell us something about ourselves as well. He tells us when we participate in his body and blood, we also become the foot- washers of the world. The servant is not greater than the master. A new commandment I give you that you love one another.

When we present-day disciples of Jesus Christ come to eat at this Table, it is appropriate to examine ourselves as to whether we are thinking about the best seats or the opportunities for service. The Holy Meal itself should be a reminder of our call to serve the needs of the world. In the early church, people didn’t show up at worship and find the communion elements all prepared in advance and waiting for them. No one had cut the bread into neat cubes and poured the wine or grape juice into those individual antiseptic shot glasses. They brought their bread and wine with them and presented them at the time of the offering, for theirs was largely a trading commerce where people dealt in kind. So the priest would take enough of the bread and wine to be used for the communion, and the rest of it would be distributed to the poor of the community.

Participating in the communion of the body and blood of Christ automatically meant being involved in ministering with Christ to the needs of the world. As Christ gave his body and blood for the world, we are called to give ourselves. As he washed the feet of his disciples, so we are called to outdo one another, only in serving and showing honor to one another. Jesus has given us, has shown us, an example of what we are to be if we are to follow him in the world, if we are to presume to partake of his body and blood in this holy meal.

“Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so Jam. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.”

Sometimes I think we take the Sacrament of Holy Communion for granted, especially for those of us who have been brought up in the life of the church. I hope we will always consider this Sacrament as a high honor and a precious privilege, to share with the saints in all ages around the banquet table of the Lamb. But remember, please, those saints deserve the name of saint because they went with their Lord all the way. And how could they do any other when they once tasted and saw the Lord was good? They were set free to be humble. Their spirits could soar into service.

A preacher once took his congregation on an imaginary tour through the museum of the New Jerusalem. He told about what he saw there: a widow's mite and the feather of a little bird; some swaddling clothes, a hammer and three nails, and a few thorns; a sponge that had once been dipped in vinegar and a small piece of silver; a common drinking cup which had a very honorable place. Then he asked the attendant: "Have you not got a towel and a basin in your collection?" Can you guess the answer? "No, not here. You see, they are in constant use."

They are in constant use - by us. Because Jesus has shown and told us what it means to love and to serve.
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